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| BACKSTREET Diaries KEVIN Saturday, November 18, 2000. Tokyo- Hi guys, it's Kevin here just checking in to let you know what we'�ve been up to. I have to tell you, the Backstreet Boys are experiencing the craziest time of our lives right now. See, we got it into our heads to do this mad race across the world to visit all our fans and say a huge thanks for their support - 6 continents in 100 hours and we're well on our way already. But first up I wanna say a huge thanks to you guys and MTV for voting BSB Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards. It meant so much to us. We had a cool night too. The girls from All Saints hooked up with us and we had a laugh catching up but one of the highlights had to be performing Shape Of My Heart up on stage- we always get a kick out of singing live but knowing that the likes of Madonna and Wyclef were there to watch us definitely added that extra sparkle. Straight after the awards ceremony we steamed over to The Grand, one of the swankiest hotels in Stockholm and the venue for THE hottest party of the night. R&B winner and Puff Daddy's girl, Jennifer Lopez was there shimmying on the dance floor and I bumped into Robbie Williams and his Kids duet partner Kylie Minogue - she's tiny! I couldn't believe it when Madonna took to the stage and I really, really couldn't believe it when I looked at my watch just a few minutes later (or so I thought!) and realised it was gone 5 o'clock in the morning! Bed time. Luckily the five of us had the next morning free and so, being hard-grafting kinda guys- we snapped up the opportunity for a well-earned lie-in. Then it was rock 'n' roll all the way as we were whisked to a private gate at the city airport and escorted onto the most amazing jet ever invented. Bedroom, dining room, shower room and private chef all on board - it's like a flying hotel! Don't get me wrong it's not our jet. We've hired it purely for the four days of the trip. The Backstreet Boys can't afford to travel in this kind of style all the time y'know. Nick threatened to cook dinner for everyone but thankfully the food was ready and waiting - salmon, vegetables and AJ's favourite dish- Swedish meat balls. (Don't tell him I said so, but he had two helpings.) The best moment of the whole 91/2 hour flight though was when I put my flying lessons to good use and took the controls. Man, what a feeling. Well, we all managed to snatch a few hours sleep on the plane and I'm writing this just moments after we arrived in Tokyo. There must've been, like, 1000's of fans at the airport waiting for us and the screams were deafening. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that after four years away, they still love us! That's all from me. I've got a whole bunch of interviews to do and a few more thousand Japanese fans to say "hi!" to. Laters! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIAN Sunday, November 19, 2000. Hey there. Brian here giving you guys the lowdown on the Backstreet Boys Black & Blue World Trip so far. We're just approaching Sydney now and everyone's feeling heaps better after a decent night�s sleep. Mind you, I still don't know what day it is. All I know is it's day two in our crazy 100 hour tour of the world but it sure is fun. I was so exhausted yesterday I crashed out within an hour of taking off from Tokyo. Man, it was wild visit. When we landed at Tokyo's Narita airport we could hear the fans before we even entered the terminal. Sure enough there were thousands of smiling faces everywhere we looked. I love checking out the banners and I saw one which really touched me cos it said, "Congratulations Brian on your marriage!" Thanks. There was only time for a quick freshen up before we boarded a boat in Tokyo harbour to sail us across the water to Odalba Bay where there were even more dedicated supporters waiting for us. Someone told us that many of them had been there since 5am, can you believe it?! As the boat pulled up to the shore line us five guys took our positions on the deck and shouted out "Ai shite mas!" it means "I love you!" and it hit the right spot with the fans alright. Then we sang an a cappella version of Shape Of My Heart. The response was wonderful. I gotta tell you, when I'm feeling shattered after a long flight all I need to witness is the look on the smiling faces of the fans and that makes me so happy. OK confession time- I not only miss my wife and my family but I also miss my dogs. Do you know, I talk to them when I'm away!? It's true, I phone them up and tell them, "Don't worry, Daddy�s coming home soon!" Anyway back to Tokyo- later that afternoon we headed to Venus Fort Shopping Mall where we performed the new single for the fans. A couple of Samurai swordsmen did this mad mock fight before we came on. It was cool but I had to stop Nick from walking right out there onto the stage and joining in. He�s mad on his marshal arts and he�s crazy about Japanese culture - you must hav e seen his tattoos by now. The performance went really good. It�s great for us to show people what the Backstreet Boys are capable of. In the early days we got written off by so many critics as just another boy band but I think we�ve proved our point somewhat. Still you can never get complacent and I for certain still feel real nervous about singing live. You never know what�s going to happen. I�ve been in some sticky situations where the sound cuts out and you just have to keep talking to the crowd to keep things ticking along! Thank goodness everything went to plan. It was cool to have some down time to chill at the hotel before we headed back to the airport ready for our flight to Sydney. AJ welcomed everyone on board over the tannoy and Howie crashed out in the middle of the a busy room clutching a Winnie the Pooh bear a fan had given him at the airport. Like I said, I fell asleep pretty soon too and do you know what, I could sure do with some more kip now! Ah well, gotta keep going. Over and out! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOWIE Sunday, November 19, 2000. Hey guys! This is Howie checking in to keep you up to date on the ins and outs of the Backstreet Boys Black & Blue World Trek. We've just taken off from Sydney, Australia, where we received an amazing reception from the fans. I couldn't believe it when we found a black and blue open-topped double decker bus waiting for us at the airport when we touched down. The last couple of times we come to Sydney we had to travel in mini vans so this was something else. It was like those sightseeing tour buses you get in London. The weather was perfect and sitting on the top deck was the perfect place to be cos even though it was humid we had a nice breeze to cool us down. The only bad thing was I lost my hat. I wasn't having too good a hair day so I was really pleased when we got presented with brand new Cougar hats and then I was pretty upset when it got swung off my head by a gust of wind. Ah well... We drove through the city, chased by a convoy of fans, before pulling up at the North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club on Bondi Beach. Well at least we were supposed to pull up outside but things didn't run so smoothly. First the bus ploughed straight through a wooden post and then it got grounded. You see we'd put Nick and Kevin at the back to give us more space so... I'm just kidding! I wish I'd known we were heading onto the beach cos I'd have put on my sandals and shorts. I was wearing a jacket, sweatshirt, smart trousers and boots so I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. The surfboards they gave us made up for it mind you, but I could've done without the Speedos that came with'em. Maybe I'll give them to my brother. The boat trip around Sydney harbour made the whole visit for us cos we don't often get the chance to have a laid back look at the sights. That was the first time we'd seen the Opera House from the water and it was the kind of break we really needed cos most of our stops have been go, go, go. However the highlight of the day was our performance at Pitt St Mall. It was an overwhelming feeling. The police had blocked off the roads for us and something like 5000 fans were waiting for there. We weren�t really sure what kind of response we were going to get cos we hadn�t been to Sydney for over 5 years but we needn�t have worried. The crowd was massive! The only strange moment of the trip was when a fan threw a bra onto the stage where we were performing and AJ being AJ put it on. I don�t know what was going on there! I told him if it didn�t fit I�d give it to my sister but it actually fitted fine so I think he kept it. I have to say, I haven�t actually seen AJ in a bra before and I really don�t care to ever again! Still, I'm sure we're going see some even more amazing sights during the remaining legs of our worldwide trip and you'll be the first to know about them. That's all from me. I'm off to have a word with AJ about his clothes sense! Bye, Love Howie. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NICK Monday, November 20, 2000, Cape Town- How ya doin? This is Nick with my version of what's happening on this crazy four day trip of ours. I'm writing this diary entry on our long journey from South Africa to South America and I've got heaps to tell you. I've never been to South Africa before so I was first at the plane window as we began our descent over Cape Town. It was a beautiful site with Table Mountain stretching out along one side of the city and the ocean on the other side, reaching way out to the horizon. I was hoping to see some white sharks but the plan was to stay on the ground for just 41/2 hours so we had to pile straight into the cars that were waiting for us on the tarmac. My car was a 1997 Jaguar and it was a real smooth journey. The countryside I saw from the car window looked wonderful. The mountains were really lush and green and covered in these incredibly tall trees. When we pulled up at the hotel there were crowds of fans lining up to see us so we spent some time chatting with them and signing autographs. One woman and her daughter had been waiting since 4am to meet us! Every stop off on the trip has included a press conference with the country's media and this place was no different. Well, there was one major difference actually... they decided to bring this huge cheetah into the room and sit it on a table in front of us. Seriously! A real live cheetah! It scared the hell out of me! Kevin and I were talking about it afterwards and we were agreeing that it's amazing when you think about how powerful the animal is and yet how helpless at the same time when it�s facing extinction the way it is. Don'�t you think that's really horrible? People have got to realise that these things aren't going to be around forever. We've got to start doing something about this situation. Like I said, I was really scared for a moment. I mean it was a beautiful creature and we all gave it a pat on the head but I was wary of those sharp claws and I was worried it was going to leap at us and take a swipe. It seemed pretty tame though. You know, I don't mind being asked to do stuff that some people might think are dangerous but the two things I'd never do are jump out of an plane and fly in a helicopter. Once when we were in Berlin, Germany, we cancelled this helicopter ride at the last minute. A few hours later we heard it had crashed. That's why I don�t ever want to fly on one of those things. But back to happier stuff... The location of the hotel was what really got to me today. It was set on the edge of Granger Bay and the water really reminded me of Cape Cod. You probably know that I'�m a big ocean person and this place kinda made me think of home. I'�ve seen so many different types of ocean all around the world but the view I saw today is really going to stick in my mind. The water was so clear you could see right down to the bottom. The press conference was pretty good fun and we got asked some very interesting questions. We're usually totally prepared for whatever gets thrown at us however one question really knocked us off balance. It was asked by a fan and this is exactly what she said... "What would you do for a fan who took a bullet for you?" Well first of all, we hope never to be in that kind of situation and we have a team of really great security guards who look after us well. But secondly, we wouldn't want to do anything that would put our fans in that kind of danger whatsoever and to be honest it wasn't too good a subject to think about. Tough question, mind. We love our fans so much and are so grateful for their support. It's you guys that have made everything we do possible. Another question we were asked was on the subject of girls or, more specifically, what kind of girls we like to date. I took the opportunity to remind the audience that Howie, AJ and I are all young, free and single again and looking for love! So, if you know of anyone interested...! Well it was such a short stay in Cape Town, it was over before we knew it but the people were really friendly and the scenery was gorgeous so I definitely want to come back for a long visit. Gotta go. Brian wants to challenge me to a game on Dreamcast and I'm gonna wallop him this time, See you soon, Love Nick |
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